Assessing the failures of Charlemagne’s rule, historian F.L. Ganshof famously argued that “[Charlemagne] left the Frankish state as he found it.” In my opinion, F.L. Ganshof meant that Charlemagne left his empire weak and divided, just like before he became the...

Between Byzantine, Islamic, and Frankish worlds, the state that deserves the title of Rome’s successor is Byzantine. Although Byzantine got most of their culture from Greece, they were able to continue and expand Rome’s traditions in many different ways. The Eastern...

The gender norms and roles in the Roman Empire and Early Germanic society had some similarities, but they vastly differ when it came to penalties or punishments. However, we can conclude that the conditions of women improved in Western Europe as barbarians adopted the...

Unlike the Greeks, Romans were not open to innovations but instead; they depended on slave labor and used animal power for agriculture. They didn’t seek for opportunities but only “stability, peace, and bread for all.” They relied so much on manpower that even mining...

The Old Man’s Boat and the Old Man’s Dog is an oil on canvas painting done by Eric Fischl. It was painted in 1982, and the size is 7 feet by 7 feet. In the painting, five people are in the boat including a Dalmatian dog. Everyone appears to be naked except for the...